Labor Day bridge walkers continue to afterparty at Glen Lake Manor

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Those who remain up north and walk across the Glen Lake Narrows Bridge at noon on Labor Day Monday will get an extra treat this year. Glen Lake Manor owners Sue and Robert Rife will host an afterparty from 12:30-2 pm at the 120-year-old estate on M-22—0.4 miles west of the bridge. The event might double as a goodbye party of sorts for the Rifes, since the Manor is under contract to sell. The Bridge Walk, a locals’ tradition since 1995 to mark the end of the summer tourism season, takes place this year on Sept. 7. Bridge Walk 2026 t-shirts will be available for sale at the Narrows Bridge.

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Jazz pianist Jeff Haas finds another musical home in Leelanau

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For years, Traverse City pianist Jeff Haas performed in Leelanau County in various locations. Most recently, he played on Wednesdays at the Folded Leaf in Cedar, until the untimely closure of the bookstore and listening room. A chance encounter led to Haas returning to an old home, albeit one with a new name. Beginning Sept. 2, he will be playing Wednesday nights at Faro in Northport from 6-8 pm. “I have a history in Northport,” Haas says, noting he continues to have people asking him when he’ll be playing jazz there again.

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Seized by the day at Empire Bluff Trail

There are days that do the seizing, manifesting a startling beauty that grips your attention and encourages you to set aside concerns, take a timeout from distractedness, and immerse yourself in an encounter with the sublime, writes Tim Mulherin. That happened to him on the afternoon of Monday, May 11, when he received an irresistible, wordless invitation to head for a certain cherished spot at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

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Can Storytelling Heal a “National Divorce” Between Neighbors?

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Some 226 years ago Thomas Jefferson wrote, “I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” Today, a group of Leelanau County neighbors is now testing whether that idea still holds true: that disagreeing with someone on fundamental issues doesn’t have to mean losing them. The results have come to fruition in a local storytelling campaign titled Community Conversations: Exploring What Matters to Our Neighbors. The initiative examines the values and life experiences of 17 residents of the Grand Traverse Region through personal narratives. Those conversations have evolved into an exhibit of photography portraits paired with each storyteller’s words.

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Could wildfire smoke change the flavor of wine grapes in northern Michigan?

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When wildfire smoke blanketed northern Michigan skies in mid-July, Kasey Wierzba thought the vineyard at Shady Lane Cellars in Suttons Bay looked like a different planet. “That kind of pinky, peachy haze really was filtering through the whole vineyard. The visibility was really minimal,” Wierzba, who is the general manager and executive winemaker at Shady Lane Cellars, told Vivian La of Interlochen Public Radio. Wierzba also thought about how the smoke might impact the grapes, something that the wine industry is becoming more familiar with as wildfires increase in frequency and intensity.

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Cedar Polka Fest dances August away

The Cedar Polka Fest is an annual festival celebrating the towns rich Polish history. Lasting four days and nights, nearly 10,000 people descend on tiny Cedar in the heart of Leelanau County for family fun. Join Cedar to eat, drink, and dance the nights away. This is one of very few Polka Festivals left in the United States. The 44th annual Cedar Polka Fest kicks off Thursday, Aug. 27, under the big tent. The Polka Festival has become a signature event in Leelanau.

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Even gangsters need a vacation

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Al Capone in Leelanau County?! According to local historian, journalist, and storyteller Larry Wakefield, “Even gangsters, it seems, have to take vacations,” he wrote in his book “Ernest Hemingway Fished Here.” In the mid-1990s, Rebecca Carlson and her friends were given the opportunity to walk with a property owner in the area along Lake Michigan, south of Duck Lake, to the ‘rumored’ cottages of gangster Al Capone, AKA Scarface. While there was heavy tree growth, they walked a two-track until coming upon a run-down, two-story cottage looking like it was going to fall into Lake Michigan. The front porch of the cottage sat precariously on the edge of a bluff overlooking the lake. They saw a partial structure that they were told was once a gun-tower. There were several other run-down outbuildings. The whole area was remote.

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School superintendents face enrollment challenges, ponder solutions

According to MI School Data, the Michigan state government’s official education data source, all public schools in Leelanau County have a lower K-12 student body count than they did 23 years ago. though to varying degrees. In the 2002-2003 school year—which is how far back the available data goes—Glen Lake and Suttons Bay had similar numbers: 931 and 1050, respectively. In the 2025-2026 school year, Glen Lake had the highest student body count in the County at 779. While this is 16% less than 2002-2003, Glen Lake School has experienced rising enrollment for the past several years. Glen Lake’s increasing enrollment is an anomaly in Leelanau County, where school-age children are increasingly harder to come by.

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“You cannot step into the same river twice”

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“As a 13-year-old boy, it took a while to save up to buy the $59.97 canoe kit advertised in Boys Life,” writes Paul Sutherland. “I loved that canoe, and I was soon down at the Crystal River. … Today, after living with my family all over the world, I once again live in Glen Arbor. I love the Crystal River. But it is not the river of my childhood. Heraclitus says, “You cannot step into the same river twice.” Now the river I used to step into is enjoyed many days by hundreds of people in kayaks, canoes, and paddle boards. Most respect the river. But some don’t. On my end of the river near Glen Arbor, I no longer see beaver or even the occasional otter anymore. I have only seen one duck and cranes this year on our end, where even a few years ago ducks and even loons were in abundance.”

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Attainable housing: another view from Leelanau’s porch

In the July 30 issue of the Glen Arbor Sun, Cameron Krepps wrote a thoughtful and heartfelt lament about the lack of affordable housing for hard-working young trades people like him who grew up locally, work here to support themselves and their families, but who cannot afford to rent or own a home in Leelanau County. Cameron identified the problem, but he failed to suggest a solution. The local volunteers that makeup the Sleeping Bear Gateways Council believe that solutions do exist and that working together as a community we can provide local housing for people like Cameron, writes Jon Lanphier, President-elect of the Sleeping Bear Gateways Council in this op-ed for the Sun.                                                                                                            

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